Leaders ask for feedback on $850,000 BMX and skatepark

EVANS, Ga. -- A new skatepark is rolling $850,000 to a Columbia County park and now it's up to you to decide how exactly it will be built.

Plans are moving forward for a new state-of-the-art BMX and skatepark and now leaders want to hear from you.

The Division II Soccer Championships may be over at Blanchard Woods Park but plans to bring in two more big sports are rolling right along.

"This is a BMX style bike," said Phil Cohen, the owner of Chains Reaction Bicycles.

Cohen's been anxiously waiting for the new BMX and skatepark.

"Our customers are very, very excited about the plans for this new park. It's something we've really needed," Cohen said. "Although basketball and baseball are really fun, not every kid wants to do that. So we've got to provide something for other children."

Right now, the only other area track is AugustaBMX in downtown Augusta. That group is excited about a new, state-of-the-art park that would bring athletes from all over the region.

"Regional championships -- as well as national championships -- would come to this area which would mean more revenue for this area and more people coming to the CSRA," Cohen said.

The $850,000 park will be built behind the championship soccer field at Blanchard Woods.

"If they do this right, it's going to be first class," Cohen said.

"We're going to build a good one, but we need to make sure that the BMXers and the skaters are happy with what amenities and components are put in there," explained Columbia County Director of Community and Leisure Barry Smith.

And that's why Monday night county leaders want to hear from you at a design meeting for each park.

"I'm planning on attending the meeting tonight [Monday] to show my support for the facility and make sure that we don't just build a facility but we build a first-class facility," Cohen said.

"We're open to questions, recommendations, suggestions. Tonight's [Monday's] the night when you can say I want these ramps or I want these berms for the BMX track," Smith said.

Right now, the project is in the design phase. They expect to start construction in a few months and hope to have it ready to go sometime in the summer.

The meetings are both on Monday at the Savannah Rapids Pavilion and they're expecting about 80 people. The skateboarding meeting starts at 6 p.m. and the BMX meeting will start at 7 p.m.

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